Outdoor Plumbing Problems and How to Fix Them
Plumbing systems run through your home, carrying water and gas throughout your entire house. These pipes are crucial to your home and living from the bathroom to the kitchen, the laundry room, and the living space. But, it doesn’t stop there. Your backyard area relies on well-designed, high-quality plumbing as well. Consider these following problems that all homeowners face and how to avoid and solve them quickly and affordably.
Hose Bibs
Hose bibs provide the water source for your outdoor hoses. Unfortunately, these common plumbing connections can get broken, burst, or fall apart due to general wear and aging—they’re also highly susceptible to damage from frost. A broken hose bib will require some basic plumbing skills to repair or replace. First, you will need to shut the water source off before cutting out and replacing the old plumbing with new pipes. Replacing hose bibs is NOT a do-it-yourself job. It should only be attempted if you have extensive experience with plumbing installation and soldering.
Drop-eared fittings are special short hose bib replacements plumbers will sometimes use when time is an important factor. You can consider this when you need to replace an older, soldered design. Remember to remove your hoses and shut off the water source to avoid frost damage from leaks in winter.
Leaky Sprinkler Pipes or Broken Sprinkler Heads
With a sprinkler system, irrigation is a worry-free problem for urban, suburban, and rural properties. Most of the residential systems of plumbing are quite easily damaged or broken. A landscaper can often have trouble with sprinkler lines, and any digging in a yard could end up cutting a line or breaking a sprinkler head. Any homeowner can repair broken lines with enough motivation and a knack for performing hard work. First, you will need to dig up a stretch of the existing line, detach any broken sections to replace them with new ones, then test the system and bury the line to avoid future mishaps.
Broken sprinkler heads are not as simple to repair. It’s advised to consult with your irrigation specialist and provide you with a quote on replacement cost. Waiting till your semi-annual inspection and service repair to replace any heads is a good, money-saving tactic. Be sure to avoid using the irrigation system until any broken sprinkler heads can be repaired or replaced.
Avoid broken or leaky irrigation systems by scheduling regular maintenance and inspections with your sprinkler installers. These professionals know how to service your specific system, what type of problems to look for, and how to maintain peak performance.
Roots Interfering With Existing Outdoor Plumbing
Tree and shrub roots are also culprits in causing problems with plumbing lines that run through your yard or along with the house. Any location where a tree’s roots potentially mingle with plumbing lines is a disaster waiting to happen. Tree roots can be agress, strong, and quickly move towards water sources. They can press at pip joints and cracks to bend and break into the moisture lines. If this is the case, we can help.
